The global nature of online communication and the rising popularity of social media may necessitate a re-examination of First Amendment theory, according to research by associate professor Anthony Fargo.

Fargo’s paper, “Re-Imagining First Amendment Theory for the 21st Century: First Steps,” discusses five of the ways scholars and jurists have attempted to explain why free expression is extraordinarily protected in the United States Constitution’s First Amendment and argues that traditional First Amendment theory should be re-examined with new methods of communication in mind.